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“Hamizle is suspicious. Although Marquis Heslo argued that there is no connection to the recent protests in Dranberg, I find it hard to believe. We need to investigate further. If Your Highness entrusts me with the task, I can dig into this matter with the Shadows.”
Orchen, who had been pointing out suspicious aspects regarding the gathering that took place at Touré Square in Dranberg nine days ago, sat in front of the prince, expressing his thoughts on Hamizle. When his first banquet ended in disgrace, he had rushed to seek an audience with Alec.
“I thought Your Highness was already suspicious of him. That man and…”
“Sir Orchen. I’m sorry, but Hamizle wasn’t imprisoned for the reason you suspect.”
“Then…?”
“He was accused of disrespecting Her Highness.”
“What do you mean…? What happened at the banquet concerning Her Highness?”
Brett fell silent. Orchen furrowed his brows. The mention of “Her Highness” made him subtly uncomfortable. Brett cleared his throat and cautioned him, but Orchen was the type of man who found Brett’s presence unsettling simply because he was a commoner. There was no way he would heed his warning.
“Did she cause trouble again?”
“Sir Orchen, mind your words.”
Brett’s eyes gleamed with sharp warning as he glared at him. Orchen turned away with a scoff. Seated in his wing chair, smoking a pipe, Alec stared blankly at Orchen, his expression devoid of any emotion, like a man whose feelings had been eroded away.
At that moment, Orchen realized his mistake and bowed his head. The prince had ultimately chosen that woman. As Brett had once said, the woman chosen by the prince was now a member of the royal family, whom he was expected to honor and revere.
But how could he possibly consider her a royal? She was merely clinging to the prince’s side because she had managed to conceive his child through scheming. Stifling a sigh, Orchen muttered an apology.
The prince simply watched him in silence. Since that incident, Orchen had not been summoned. In fact, since arriving in Dranberg, the prince had not sought him out at all.
Unless Orchen went to him first, the prince never called for him. But today, for some reason, he had summoned Orchen himself.
“There is something I need you to do.”
“What is it, Your Highness?”
Reclining against his wing chair, the prince exhaled a plume of smoke and spoke in a low voice. Orchen’s face brightened as he asked.
“Palandos.”
“Pardon?”
“Go to the border and lead the foreign battalion.”
“But isn’t General Iklos already in charge of that?”
“Assist him.”
“Your Highness.”
The prince already had his own private military force, separate from the troops under Marquis Heslo. He had gathered mercenaries from other nations, including Constantium, organizing them into a foreign battalion that operated near the border under the banner of a military supply company he had recently acquired.
However, General Iklos, one of the prince’s closest aides, was already leading the unit. If Orchen was being sent merely to assist, this was nothing more than a demotion. He pressed his lips together, unwilling to show his agitation in front of Brett.
“Forgive my impertinence, but I don’t understand your reasoning.”
“You don’t need to. It’s an order.”
“Your Highness, I—”
“Leave Dranberg.”
“Have I done something wrong?”
Orchen dropped to his knees. The prince only continued smoking in silence. Trembling, Orchen waited for him to rescind the order.
“Disappear from my wife’s sight.”
Orchen lifted his head. His bloodshot eyes were filled with disbelief. Alec looked down at his mother’s brother as if he were nothing more than an insect.
To Alec, Orchen hardly seemed human. Orchen couldn’t believe his own nephew was looking at him like that—over a mere woman. That wretched woman. Was the prince really willing to cast away his own blood for her?
“Did my sister endure all that suffering just to give birth to you…?”
He thought of his late sister. She had abandoned the man she loved to become the wife of an aging emperor, all so she could bear a legitimate heir to the throne. She had thrown away her life and love for that sole purpose.
Even now, Orchen could vividly picture her—seventeen years old, draped in the white wedding dress and veil symbolizing the Empress.
The young girl had clutched the wrinkled emperor’s hand, holding back her tears. And yet, the son she had sacrificed everything for was now throwing him away.
“Please reconsider.”
He held back his sobs.
“Leave.”
“Your Highness, I have dedicated my life to serving both you and your late mother, Empress Eloise.”
“Then keep serving me. If you claim to live for me, why are you refusing my command? Are you dissatisfied because I haven’t given you the role you wanted?”
“I simply do not understand why Your Highness is doing this. If it were a matter of going to the border, I would comply without hesitation, even if it meant never returning. But I must understand the reason.”
“And?”
“But if the reason is merely because of… ‘the woman carrying Your Highness’s child’…”
The woman carrying his child—not a princess, not a consort. Just a woman who bore his child. Alec’s gaze turned chillingly cold. Orchen suddenly found himself too afraid to meet his eyes.
“Leave.”
“I… I am sorry.”
“Do not show yourself to me again.”
“Your Highness… does that mean—”
“You no longer need to serve me.”
Orchen’s eyes widened in shock. His face twisted with emotion as he trembled violently. He felt as though the ground beneath him had collapsed. Looking up at the prince, he found nothing but an unyielding expression. His firmly shut lips carried an icy finality. His sharp, angular eyes brimmed with unwavering fury.
It was as if Orchen had been cast off a cliff. A single tear slipped down his cheek.
“Your Highness, Colonel Hamizle has arrived,” a voice called from outside the door.
When Orchen failed to rise, Alec stood up. Brett followed suit. Brett glanced at Orchen with a complex expression before offering him a slight nod. It was a polite gesture, but to Orchen, it felt unbearably condescending.
Since taking in that runaway slave woman, the prince had surrounded himself with nothing but vulgar, lowborn people. What did he hope to achieve with them? He had refused to meet with the noble Marquis Offreze or Count Belzenor, instead aligning himself with merchants who had no standing in the central court.
The prince exited the room. Brett followed. Orchen was left alone.
So this is how a hunting dog feels when it is discarded after the hunt is over. No—his hunt had not even ended. He had simply been thrown away.
Swallowing his despair, he thought of the woman who clung to the prince, claiming to be his wife.
“If only she disappeared.”
Yes. If that woman vanished, the prince would come to his senses. His eyes gleamed with dangerous determination.